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Saturday, July 9, 2016

Authors are always hoping their books will become classics and live on with generations of fans. Edgar Rice Burrough was able to actually do that. Below is my movie review for the newest summer blockbuster: The Legend of Tarzan

Movie Title: The
Legend of Tarzan

Grade: B

Rating: PG-13,
109 minutes

In a Nutshell: Director
David Yates is most known for his work with the last four Harry Potter films. This time he brings us a new take on Edgar
Rice Burrough’s Tarzan.

One of Hollywood’s
first silent films was the Tarzan story, shortly after the original book came
out. While the story is flawed, and many feel like there was no need for a remake, the lush, romantic images in this movie will make you
feel like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bocall could float down the river at any
minute.

Did you ever see the 1984 movie “Greystoke”? I loved it and highly recommend it. This story...sort of....begins where that movie left off.

Uplifting theme:

“A
normal man can do the impossible to save the woman he loves. My husband is no normal man.” - Jane Clayton

Honor,
friendship, loyalty, revenge, respect.

The value of human an animal life.

Things I liked:

The
musical score sounded very exotic and mysterious from the very beginning.

Christoph
Waltz is fantastic in anything.

Alexander
Skarsgard makes for a perfectly believable Tarzan. I loved it when he greeted the lions he
had known since they were cubs. So
sweet. Great CGI moment! As a 6'4" hunk of muscle and abs, Alexander convincingly plays a kind Tarzan who can easily kick butt when needed.

Margot
Robbie makes a lovely, spunky Jane Porter. She's a British actress playing an American, while Alexander Skarsgard is an American playing a Brit.

Samuel
Jackson. Ha ha He looks like he's having fun. His character is actually based on a real person.

Beautiful
scenery and settings.

Tarzan
thinks those pincer ants taste like bacon.
Ha ha

There is a lot of action and movement from start to finish.

There are some emotional moments akin to Bambi losing his mother.

Things I didn’t like:

The
movie jumps back and forth in time and could become confusing for some
people.

Sometimes
the apes and animals looked real; other times the CGI looked too fake.

There
is a LOT of narration so that the audience can understand what’s going on. The problem is that the movie almost talks down to the audience. Show us; don't just tell us.

Samuel
L. Jackson’s existence in the movie is merely for comic relief. He represents an American emissary,
which doesn’t make a lot of sense in the story line.

You hear Tarzan's famous yell, but you never actually see Alexander Skarsgard do it. You also hear him growl like lions and other animals, but again, it's a soundtrack behind him and you never see his face while he's making those sounds.

Funny lines:

“I’ve
already been to Africa. And it’s
hot.” – John Clayton (Tarzan)

“I
never take the stairs. I usually
take the curtains.” – John Clayton

“You
DO know that the right side of your mustache is just a little bit lower
than the left?” – Jane

“How
are we supposed to catch a train going 40 miles an hour?” – Samuel L. Jackson “Gravity.”
- Tarzan